Carrying A Cardboard Box
by Emergency Vampirization
Summary: Isabella Swan met Edward Masen in an unlikely situation whereas Bella, is the daughter of a business tycoon and Edward is..a poor, homeless man that hides big secrets. What are they? What would they learn from each other?
1. Since I First Met You

**Carrying A Cardboard Box - First Time**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of my story, just the plot. I'm playing with them and throwing them in different situations in life. AH.**

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**BPOV**

**Tuesday, May 12 8:10 ante meridian.**

Ugh. Why are you bailing on me, dear Blackberry? I need to tell my secretary to hold on a meeting for me. It's actually about a company wanting me to seal a deal with them. You know, like teaming up? It's kinda important to me, dear one.

I sighed, feeling completely hopeless. It's in the Summer of 2010, and I, Isabella Swan, the President of the Swan Group of Companies, is supposed to sign the partnership contract with the Cullen Corps. I am only here because my father, Charlie Swan, is currently at the hospital, being monitored because of his bad case of a heart illness. So, I am the one taking these things up. I am supposed to be the kid who works hard, and believe me or not, I am only 24 years old. I'm only meant to start at a low job if I were a normal kid, but no, I am the kid of the owner of the world-known company.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the traffic light to go green. I looked to my side and saw a man on the sidewalk. He looked filthy, he must had not showered for days. From what I could see, he had bronze coloured hair, and he seems pretty tall on how high he is while he's sitting, plus, I could also determine it because of his legs, which are pretty long. He seemed to look left and right, as if someone might catch him. He stopped and clutched a thing beside him. Oh, a cardboard box? I was confused. What would he do with it? But my eyes were driven out of that when I saw his fingers start to do something. It was like, his fingers are playing an instrument of some sort? A piano, perhaps? Then, after he taps the ground, he seemed to get a small paper beside him, plus a pencil and he wrote something down. Composing something? I highly doubt it. How could he compose something, if he hasn't heard it, which I'm sure of since he's tapping the concrete.

_BEEP BEEP!_

I heard the cars behind me horn out. I didn't notice that the light had turned green. I shook myself out of my thoughts and stepped on the gas pedal. I zoomed as fast as I could and drove towards my office. Even though I tried to shake myself out of those thoughts, it keeps on coming back. Added to that, are the questions that I wanted to be answered, but pretty sure it won't be.

Then a though came into my mind. The streets of New York had always been rowdy, always having street fights and other vile things. I don't want him to be killed or harmed. I consider him as an _acquaintance _now, even though we haven't officially met. Plus, he looks...innocent.

I closed my eyes a bit and opened them again. I passed by Burger King and after a few blocks, I'm at the huge tower which contains the whole Swan Group of Companies. I shut off the engine and threw the car keys in my bag. I almost ran out of the car, because it was already 8:15. I am so late. I locked the doors and headed towards the elevator. It was about to close, but I shouted for them to wait. Someone held the door and I thanked him. I told him I was on the top floor.

"Of course." He replied.

I waited, as the elevator music played. I tapped my shoe on the base of the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive on my floor.

_**DING!**_

I thanked him and ran out of the elevator. I met with my secretary on the front desk, panting.

"Jennie, are they there?" I asked her, even though I know what her answer was.

"Yes, Miss Swan. Now go!" She urged and pushed me towards the conference room. As I was approaching the door, I smoothened out my business clothes, fixed my hair and chin held up high, I went in the conference room. I smiled at the representing members of the Cullen Corps before sitting down on my chair. I proceeded with my apologies.

"I apologize for making you wait, respected members of the Cullen Corps. You see, I was trying to get a hold of Jennie, my secretary, but unfortunately, my Blackberry had decided to sleep and rushing here." I finished it, looking at them. All of them held smiles on their faces.

"It's not a big deal, Miss Swan. I am sure that this is not a regular occurrence, for everyone in your company has been telling us how responsible you are, for a young lady." The CEO of the Cullen Corps said. He was a male, looking like he was only at his 30's but I knew better. He was actually 46, turning 47 this September 6. Well, that's what _they_ told me. He was dressed in a tuxedo, looking very clean. _Opposite of the man I saw on the sidewalk._ Isabella! I scolded myself. This is not the right time, nor place to have this kind of thinking. An office is only for business thoughts, always supposed to be business related.

"So, shall we start discussing?" I suggested. Way to go, Swan.

"Oh, yes. Here is our plan for the 2011.." Carlisle explained. He told me about what types of people were going to be there, how we are going to attract them and so on. I was trying to listen while he was trying to explain that to him, but I can't listen to him fully. A part of my mind somehow got into the topic of the man on the sidewalk. I can't believe how much he _interest_ me. Isabella! For the second time now, get your mind in the business. I sighed quietly and tried to focus on the task at hand. I heard Carlisle Cullen explore more in detail about this upcoming joint project. I took some notes in my head about it, until he finished it.

"Well, Miss Swan, does this make you want to sign the contract?" He teased lightly. I smiled at him and held out my hand. He gave it to me and I took a pen from my pen holder. I took the cap off of my Limited Edition Mystery Masterpiece pen that I got from my dear friend, Jasper for my 21st birthday. You must think that he's crazy for giving me a _pen_, out of all things to give. Actually, this pen cost him 730,000 dollars. And _that_ is crazy.

So, I re-read the contract, like what I'm supposed to do and looked for my name. I signed my signature over the line and capped my pen. I put it back and gave Carlisle back the contract. His face broke out into a beaming smile and he went beside his wife, Esme Cullen.

"I thank you, Miss Swan. I feel so honoured being in a partnership with your company." He said politely and gave me a smile.

"My pleasure, Carlisle. But now, I must head out. I have a _lot _of things to assess and whatnot. I apologize though, for not being able to freely talk with you and your wonderful wife." I complimented. They appreciated it and I head out. I went into my office, the largest one in the entire building. This office is actually my father's, but he gave me permission to use it. I sat down on the chair and started organizing the papers in front of me. I really don't like my secretary doing this for me. I feel like I'm slaving her, so here I am, trying to organize them. I put them in stack, based on how much they were important. Now, nice and clean.

I pressed the button for the intercom. I heard a voice speak through it.

"Yes, Miss Swan?" Jennie asked.

"Jennie, come here and report to me." I told her and shut the intercom. She knew what _report_ means. It means that she should report the progress of the company, stocks, employees and lastly, my hectic schedule. I heard a knock and I clicked the button for the door lock. When she closed the door, I put it on lock again. I don't want disturbances.

"Well, Miss Swan, the company has been gaining more and more attention worldwide. Fierce, our fashion line is being bought by most teenagers nowadays, according to the survey that was conducted by the Fashion department. Reife, the extension of Fierce, is the most popular adult clothing store. The department suggests that we should create more outlets, since the managers of each outlet are saying that the store is always full, making the shoppers hard to choose. Next, our food business. All of them are doing good, except for Omega. Omega needs more bistros. Oh, our Technology department. They said that the shippers of the products we are reselling were demanding some sort of addition to their fees. They are holding back the stuff that we need to put now on our stores." I put my hand up, telling her to hold it. She smiled at me, understanding the sign.

Since when do the shippers hold back things? Ugh. They're making my life a lot harder. I dialled the number of the port where we were supposed to receive the appliances and gadgets we ordered. As I dialled, I asked Jennie what she had next. She told me about the progress of our upcoming Auto Show to showcase the newest _Lioness_ cars we have; yes, we do create cars. We do not import them. Then, the Jewels department had reported that the sales were going down, and was being attracted by our current top competitor, Tiffany & Co. I need to find a way to market our-

"Hello?" I heard someone on the phone say.

"Ah, yes, this is Isabella Swan, President of the Swan Group of Companies. I would just like to know, if Jinxstar ship number four-three-seven is still there?" I inquired.

"Oh yes, Miss Swan. Would you like me to transfer the call to one of our porters there?"

"Sure."

_Beep._ Then, some weird song started playing. I motioned for Jennie to resume her reports.

"Okay, so the hospitals we have around New York has been receiving way too much patients. It's not a bad thing for the hospitals though, it's bringing us more mon- I mean, income." She cringed. She knew that I didn't like hearing the word _money._ It makes me feel like I'm such a money-whore. I mean, if she says, "it's bringing us more money" I feel like she's saying, "It's making you guys richer and you it's possible for you to not work and still live a very comfortable life."

"Hello? Miss Swan?" I heard a person in the phone say. I held up my finger, letting Jennie know that I'm talking to someone.

"Yes, Isabella Swan here. I just need to check about the shipping that my company should be receiving?"

"Ah, yes. It had caused quite a bit of a problem here. You see, the shippers had demanded extra 1000 dollars. Or else they wouldn't let your men get the stuff that you need." He informed me.

"Ah, okay. That is the problem. I'll put you on hold for a while, is that okay? I need to make an important phone call, and I'll be back." I compromised and he hummed in agreement. I pressed the 'hold' button and made another call. I skimmed through the list of numbers 'til I saw what I needed. I dialled the numbers and it rang.

"President's office of Solar Technologies, how may I help you?" I heard his secretary say her line.

"Bravo, Leah." I said, teasing her.

"Isabella Swan? You need to talk to Ja-I mean the president?" She slipped.

"Yes Leah. I would mention your little _slip-up_ to Jacob." I said teasingly.

"HEY! Don't tell him, Bella!" She whined. I giggled quietly. I love making her whine.

"Just kidding. Transfer the call to him now, I need to speak to him urgently." I said and transformed my voice back to business type.

"Yes, Miss Swan." She said and I heard her press a button. I could hear the phone being picked up.

"Jacob Black speaking."

"Jake! You're Goddamn shippers are demanding an extra payment for the appliances and other gadgets!" I whined.

"Not again.." He whined. That happened 3 times prior to this one. I don't know which companies, but all I know is that happened 3 times already.

"Don't you like, pay them the right amount or something? They're always asking for more." I told him. I could feel him roll his eyes on me through the phone.

"Bella, you know I always pay them the right amount. Maybe even more. I think they're getting greedy. I should fire them."

I wanted to say, "_Sure Jake. Tell me you'd fire them. Then when it happens again, you'll tell me because they begged on their knees and told him that they had a family to feed and give shelter, or else they'd end up on the streets. Yeah, sure. Go, __**fire **__them."_

"Sure, I guess. Ugh, I'm getting sidetracked again. I'll tell them to give it or you'll fire them. I'm busy. 'kay, BYE!" I said and ended the call. I pressed the 'hold' button again to talk to the porter.

"Uh, hey. Do you mind lending your phone to one of the shippers? I need to speak with them." I asked him.

"No, not at all, Miss Swan. Here." I heard some shuffling of the phone and then a gruff voice answered.

"Miss Swan?"

"Yes, sir. I'm relaying a message from your boss here. He said that he would fire you if you don't give us our shipments. I highly suggest giving our shipments to us, and you talk to your boss."

He laughed nervously. "Ahaha..okay, Miss Swan. I'll..uh, give it to your men, now. Ha..ha. Nice talking to you, Bye!" I heard him say and the call was cut. _How rude, _I thought to myself as I put down the phone. I nodded at Jennie, letting her know that she could now continue reporting to me.

"Golden Rise, our condominium has built new condominium towers, 3 in California, 5 in Los Angeles, 1 in Nevada and 2 in Texas. We made sure that all of those will be bought, if you must know, Miss Swan. Remember, early this year, the party that we held for the opening of your hotel here in New York? Your father also instructed us to talk to some businessmen there, to entice them to buy our condominiums. A lot has confirmed and some of them introduced our condos to other businessmen around the country, so the condos will be bought."

"MoveForward Records has been recruiting new singers. We had them records some songs and we'll give them to the radio stations. We will also let out the songs in the internet and check how many downloads we've got. Oh! The music stores under the MoveForward Records is still in the rage, if that's how they call it now, and the albums of our star singers are being bought so many times. So, our sales there are going up. Lastly, MidnightDawn Publishing has been reproducing a lot of copies of your book, Miss Swan, because of the demand. Other than that, everything's great. That's all."

I nodded, looking straight ahead, staring at nothing. So far, all of the companies have been consistent, except for the jewellery. I need to ask the designers in that _department_ as I would like to call it, to give me more designs. As far as I know, the designs have been redundant. We need a change. I think, we should go for simplicity, yet elegant, or truly grandeur.

"Schedule."

"Today, May 12, you have lunch with your father, 12 o'clock to one. You also have an appointment with Mr. Jenks, the acting president of the jewellery company. 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock. Then, you have the rest of the day free, Miss Swan. May 13, Wednesday up to May 15, Friday, clear. May 16, Saturday, you are going to be in the launching of the new outlet of SwanTech. It's just here in New York, don't worry. That would be half a day. After that, your father arranged a ball for no particular reason for you. He emailed that to me this morning. That is all." She said. I smiled and dismissed her. I pressed the button again to unlock the door. She went out and closed it.

I sighed, letting my body fall back on the chair. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. It's a good thing I have 3 days free. It's rare to have free days, since my father was admitted to the hospital. I spun my chair around and stopped when it's facing the glass wall. I opened my eyes and gazed at the busy roads of New York. Lots of cars, people crossing the roads and..

_Hey! It's the man I saw earlier!_

He was walking down the sidewalk, being avoided by the people. He was still carrying his box and he looked like he was searching for..food. He looked at one restaurant longingly and headed for the trash cans nearby. I don't know why, but I suddenly had the urge to go run down. As fast as I can run in my heels, I ran down the building. I stopped and turned left, where the walking escalator, that was supposed to be only used by carts being delivered up here whenever the elevator was unavailable. I pressed the button, and it moved. I ran while it was moving, giving me shorter distances to run through. I reached the ground floor, panting and rushed out of the double doors.

I looked left and right, searching for the guy. I saw him heading to one of those green bins and I ran. I crossed the road, not caring whether I was jaywalking, or I might get run over by a car. I was breathing heavily and I am sweating bullets right now. I was getting about 1 meter away from my destination when..

_Crack!_

I suddenly started to fall. I closed my eyes and hugged my upper body, bracing for the impact. But, it never came. Instead, I felt two strong arms hold my body, preventing me to fall. And those arms are smelly. I peeked using my left eye and saw that it was the man I saw on the road. But something was different. Like, he was a _different_ person. He had emerald green eyes that shone so bright against the sun, a long, straight nose, full pink lips and strong jaw. He had unruly bronze hair, as well. I stared at him for what seems like forever, when he cleared his throat. Damn, he stinks.

I stood up and brushed myself. I'm not going to lie. Even though he looks totally perfect, except his clothes and the dirt on his body, he is stinky. But, (emphasizing the word 'but') you can still smell an undertone of like a pine-y and husky smell.

I noticed something. I feel like my body's not balanced. I looked down and saw what made me fall. The heel on my right shoe was cracked. I sighed and picked up the cracked heel. I stomped on the my left shoe and heard a cracking noise. Here, I broke the other one just so it would be balanced. I heard a melodious chuckle. Then, I remembered why I was here.

"C'mon." I simply said and grab his hands. My, they were soft. I started tugging on it, but he wouldn't budge. I looked at him and saw he was looking at me weirdly.

"What do you need from me, my lady?" He asked me. Woah, he sounds so...old. No, I don't mean his voice. I mean, the way he talks sounds so old. I decided to match his question with an old sounding answer.

"Why, dear sir, I am going to feed both of us. We are going to eat, even though it's only 10 in the morning. So, c'mon." I said and tugged on his hand again. His eyes darkened.

"I do not need pity." He said, in a deep voice, sounding insulted. Oh, shit.

"I..uh..no..I mean- Uh, I'm sorry." I stuttered and sighed in defeat. He caught me. But I wouldn't really call it pity, you know. It's more of a _help_ than _pity._ I do feel kinda sorry for him, he lives on the streets. And God knows how much my heart breaks every time a see a person living on the streets, looking lost in this world, hopeless.

He stared at me blankly and his grip on his cardboard box got a lot tighter. His whole body was tense and he was somewhat shaking. He closed his eyes and he pinched the bridge of his nose using his free hand. He started pacing back and forth, back and forth. He did that for quite some time, too. I thought the ground beneath him would collapse from his walking.

"Leave. Now." He commanded. I feel slightly insulted, but I deserved it. I mean, I _pitied_ him, if that's what he calls _giving help._ I turned back and started to head back to the building when I felt someone hold me back. I was spun around, my chocolate locks flying wildly across my face. A hand made its way to my face, separating the bundles of hair that had come to my face.

I heard him sigh and he let go of my hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be mean, it was- I mean, I got offended from some reason and- No, what I want to say is that I didn't mean to push you away or anything. You didn't have to go here and offer me food, I can find some food in the-" I placed my finger on his soft, pink lips, making him stop mid-sentence.

"I know." I whispered silently. I gazed into his eyes and he did the same with mine. I felt like something pass between us, but I don't know what it is. It's like my eyes and his eyes are conveying messages through eye contact. I can only guess what my eyes are saying. It probably says that I understand what he meant and he need not to be sorry, because when I look into his eyes, it shows regret and hope. _Hope?_

"Could we start over? Hello, I am Edward Cu- Masen. Edward Masen." He said and offered his hand. I took notice that he stumbled over his words when he said his surname. I wanted to ask him why he stumbled over saying his last name, but I didn't want to give him the impression that I was some nosy person.

"Isabella Swan. Nice to meet you, Edward Masen." I said and shook his hand. I smiled at him, grateful that he gave _me_ a chance after the misunderstanding.

I noticed that while we were shaking hands, my hand seemed to fit with his perfectly. Like my hand was made just to fit his hand. And no, I did not feel a jolt of electricity when I shook hands with him. That's just way too fictional. But, instead of a jolt of electricity, I felt warmth spreading in me. No, it did not come from him, but I think he was the cause of it. I felt so warm inside.

I felt my pager beep in my pocket. I took it out and I saw a message. I hurriedly opened it and read it.

_Lunch with Mr. Swan, twelve to one. ~Jennie._

I looked at my watch that is on my left wrist. Crap! It's already 11:30!

"I'm sorry Edward, but I have an _appointment _with my father. I guess I'll catch you sometime?"

"Sure, I guess. I mean, if we ever encounter each other on the streets of New York, that is."

I nodded at him and gave him a wave goodbye. He smiled in return and I turned around, walking towards my workplace. _If_ we encounter each other?

I have a feeling it wouldn't be an _if._

_I feel just like a live wire  
I've been thrilled through and through  
Since i first met you_

_The stars that shine at night  
Seem so more clear and bright  
The world seems fresh and sweet  
My life seems more complete_

_**The Robins - Since I First Met You**_

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**Author's Note:**

**It would take me a week or two to get the next chapter done and uploaded. No promises. I mean, I have another story with me and I'm just a new writer here. I made this one, since I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I soon started typing, then I made this. This thing was almost unconsciously made. So, yeah. I'm typing up the next chapter, but I won't be able to finish it today. Last day of school tomorrow! I need to sleep early. :)**

**I need some online gaming time too. XD**

**Leave me reviews. I'm not usually this demanding, but I need to have at least, 10? or something. Gives me inspiration and it makes me now that people are actually reading my stories and giving time to spare me some lovely reviews. OHYAH, include your name there and if you were lucky, I might include you in my story, because the truth is, people, I need names. I don't want to put John Smith or something, not that it's bad, it's just wayyyyy too common. The point is, leave me a review with your name. **

**Who read the whole A/N?**

**Tata. :)**

**xx, Allison Emma. **


	2. Under My Wing

**Carrying A Cardboard Box**

**Chapter 2 - Under My Wing**

**Disclaimer: I just played with their lives and SM's characters. Still all hers. LUCKY. :|**

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Wait. Is it Wednesday?

I rolled on my bed and looked at my alarm clock. 7 o'clock ante meridian, May 13 Wednesday.

YES! I did a mental jig in my head, celebrating the fact that I have this day and the next two days off work. Not really off work, since I would still go to the office. It just means that I don't have meetings, flights, parties and etcetera to do! I quickly jumped out of bed, and walked straight to my bathroom. I turned on the jets of my indoor Jacuzzi while pressing a button to fill it up with water. I took of my nightgown and slippers and sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi. I reached out my hand to get the remote for the TV that I had installed for my Jacuzzi. I just pressed the 'Music' section in the menu. Inside the 'Music' section, I pressed 'Music Videos.' I pressed shuffle and placed the remote back into its holder.

The water had long stopped, and I stepped in. The jets were creating bubbles everywhere in the water. I slid down in the water, up until only my head is in the surface. I closed my eyes and waited for the music. First came up was "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Then came was "Impossible" by Shontelle, and after that, I think I heard Ke$ha, Selena Gomez, Cheryl Cole, and some others. I didn't notice that I felt asleep until I heard "Waka Waka" by Shakira. I enjoy this song. I rubbed my eyes, stretched a bit and wiggled in my place while singing into some lines.

"You're a good soldier, choosing your battles. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and back in the saddle." I sang that part in my croaky wakey-wakey voice and hummed the next verse. But when it came to the chorus, I opened my eyes and did the same hand things that Shakira did.

I was singing the last verse of the song when it was cut off and a notification about a video call appeared on my screen. I sighed angrily, I liked that song. I reached out for the remote again and clicked the 'ok' button there. There appeared Jennie.

"What's up, Jennie?" I asked her.

"I'm just checking if you're going to work today." She said sheepishly. Seriously? She's calling me just to know if I'm going to go to work.

"Jennie, do you have to ask that? I always tell you if I'm going to be absent." I told her in a matter-of-fact tone. She looked at me with doubt of some sort.

"Miss Swan, it's already 9 in the morning." _SAY WHAT?_

"Okay. Bye!" I said and grabbed the remote beside me and turned the TV off. I jumped out of the water and pressed some buttons to stop the water flow, the jets and open the drain. I grabbed my midnight blue towel and twisted my hair up using it. I wore my bath robe and slipped on my slippers and ran to my walk in closet.

I opened the doors wide and walked in immediately. I scanned through my business attires and picked up my black blazer and some slacks. I ran towards my lingerie section and grabbed the nearest one. I took a tank top there and ran out.

I took off my towel and robe and put on my bra and panties. I wore my red wife beater and put the blazer on top of it. I buttoned the lower 3 buttons and left the others open. I grabbed my slacks and jumped into them. I went to my _mini salon,_ (that's what my best friend Alice calls it) and sat on the stool. I grabbed the blow dryer and plugged it in an electrical outlet. I grasped my comb and started combing through my hair while blow drying it. Once it was sort of dry, I turned the blow dryer off and tossed the comb back to the drawer. I opened my make up kit which I only use for business and when Alice forces me to use it, and took out the foundation. I spread a bit on my skin and grabbed the makeup brush and started dabbing it on my skin. I brushed it on my face, until everything evens out. I let go of the brush and took my mascara and eyeliner. As I was putting some eyeliner, I was putting mascara on my lashes. Yeah, I can do that. Lastly, I grabbed my lip gloss and just smeared a little bit on my lips. I threw them all away and ran to my next destination.

_The SHOE CLOSET._

I ran all the way in until I saw heels. I used to be uncoordinated, but when business calls for it, I need to do it. So from that, I learned how to walk in heels. I grabbed a pair of red pumps and slipped it on.

_There, I look presentable._

I ran all the way to the elevator and pushed the 'down' button so many times. It felt like an eternity before the elevator dinged on my floor. I went in and the elevator boy gave me a smile. He was going to press 'L' for Lobby, when I stopped him.

"Basement, please." I said and he pressed 'B1.' I rarely used my cars. For some unknown reason, I liked taking cabs. But now, I had to rush, because this is my first time to be late. In all my life, seriously. I unconsciously tapped my foot on the elevator base and waited for it to reach the basement.

Once I reached it, I ran all the way to the garage in the basement, stumbling like a drunk person. Why? Heels. 'nuff said. And yes, you heard me right. A garage in a public parking lot. My dad wanted me to have that. Couldn't really disobey him. :|

_Flashback_

_I was driving in the basement of the hotel, looking for a parking space, with my dad sitting on the seat beside me. I was driving around the parking lot, in hopes to find one spot available. I looked from front to back, until I saw an available parking space. I reverse parked in that spot and turned off the engine. I smiled proudly, finding a parking space at this time of the day is super difficult. I heard a loud huff and I looked at my dad._

"_I'll have the workers create a garage here. This won't work for us. We are the owners of this whole thing, but we almost ended up without a parking space!" He exclaimed, not quite happy._

_Then, after 4 days, I had a personal garage.._in a public basement.

_End of Flashback._

I walked in front of the eye scanner and placed my eye across it. No, I didn't take out my eyeball, if you are wondering, I just positioned my eye across it. After a few seconds, when the screen above it said that it was _Processing_, I took a step back and put my index finger on the fingerprint scanner. A line scanned it, up and down, left to right. It also said, _Processing, _and after a few moments, the speaker said, _Matched. Welcome, Miss Swan._ The hair on my arms and legs stood up. Yes, after all this time, I'm still creeped out by that voice. The steel gate opened and I walked in.

I quickly searched for the key to my car, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Coupe. I searched for the word _Coupe_ until I found two keys there. One was for my 2010 Infiniti ___G37 Coupe_ and one was for my Lamborghini. I took the keys for my Lamb and ran towards my car which is on the front. LUCKY. I opened the door and turned the engine on. I stepped on the gas pedal and zoomed out of the garage. I pressed the remote in my compartment, to close the gates. I threw it back in there and drove like a maniac to my office.

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I feel so incomplete. Well, sort of.

_I didn't see Edward today. Where could he be?_

That thought had been bugging me ever since I didn't see him on the way here. Even at lunch, and the break times. But, each and every time, I felt so paranoid. As if there was someone trying to melt me with their stares, because, I could feel the _intensity._ No, I'm not crazy. It's just that every time someone stares at me intently, and it gives off a raw emotion, I feel something on the spot they're staring at. The hairs on the back of my head rises and I get the lingering feeling of the stare.

I am not sure if that makes sense to you, but, I hope you understand. Plus, I had nothing to do today.

So absorbed in my thoughts, I didn't notice that I had bumped into someone. I was falling back, closing my eyes as my arms were embracing myself, protecting me from the fall. But, yet again, I didn't. I had two strong arms around me. I opened my eyes and saw that it was _Edward_ who had caught me again. I then acted on impulse and stood up, threw my arms around his neck and hugged him so tight, not even caring if he's filthy or smelly. I missed him, for some reason, and I felt that I had the right to hug him. I felt his arms hesitantly hug me back, locking it around my waist.

"I missed you, where were you?" I murmured into his neck. I inhaled a bit, and noticed that he doesn't smell anymore. He smelt like pine trees and rain. I looked down and saw that he was wearing new clothes. I lifted my head back up to his neck and continued inhaling his scent. I felt him bury his face in my hair. He mumbled something incoherent, so I stepped back from the embrace, but keeping my arms around his neck. I swear I heard him whimper..

"I repeat, where were you?" I asked him, cocking my head to the left. I looked at him, up and down and confirmed what I saw just a while ago. He was wearing a green shirt, that compliments his eyes, blue ripped jeans and worn out chucks. His hair ain't greasy anymore, and no part of his body looked dirty. I stared back into his eyes and I was sucked in.

"I..." he trailed off, looking panicked. He kept on looking from left to right, looking for some kind escape. I put my hands on either side of his face and made him look straight at me. My hands were burning from the feel of holding his face, but I kept it there.

"Answer me, Edward." I said softly, not wanting to cause him anger. He sighed and slumped his shoulders.

"I..went to the public gym." He said. It was convincing, yes, but for me, I feel like there's something more to that. In our short time friendship (which is only like a five minute conversation), I knew the tone of his voice. This one, is slightly deeper than his usual tone. He's leaving something out, and I'm sure of it.

"And?" I goaded him.

"JUST STAY OUT OF IT!" He roared at me. I was hurt by his words. I just wanted to know what he was doing. No harm in that. I felt my eyes tearing up, so I turned around, not wanting him to see them. I started walking, hoping that the air would keep the tears inside, but no, it just fell down more. I was around the corner, when I felt a hand hold my wrist and I spun towards his chest. My arms were in front of me, folded.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm just afraid to tell you that I had to steal these clothes from other people while they were showering. I was afraid of what you'll think of me. But I think, I should have told you a while ago. You blowing off at me is better than you, crying." He murmured. He buried his face on my hair again. I unfolded my arms and hugged his waist.

"Why did you have to steal those?" I asked him, perplexed.

"I wanted to..." he said and mumbled something incoherent.

"Pardon?" He sighed and admitted something that shocked me.

"I wanted to look and smell good for you." He said quietly, seeming embarrassed.

"Why would you? I don't really care. Not one bit." I said and amazingly, I was honest with him. I didn't really mind if he was smelly. I didn't also mind if he were dirty. Yes, I would notice it, but I wouldn't create a big fuss about it. I would just notice it, then ignore it.

"Really?" He took his face out of my hair and pushed me back gently, holding both of my shoulders. His eyes stared right into mine, looking really bright. I could see the emotions flitting across his eyes. Happiness, hope, doubt, and relief.

"100 percent sure."

"Why are you doing this?" He asked me, out of the blue. I didn't get it. Why am I doing what?

"Huh?"

"Why are you being my friend? I'm not rich, I'm homeless, I'm not perfect, and I'm hopeless." He said with a defeated sigh. I glared at him and slapped him. He looked shocked at me. His hands dropped from my shoulders and he put one of his hands over his cheek that was getting redder by the second.

"WAKE UP, Edward. Don't generalize people. Not all people care for the looks, the money, or your flaws. I am a type of person who cares about the inside of the person. You might stole something," he cringed at that," and that type of thing would usually scare away people, but no. I will not be. I won't tell anyone, because you were thinking of me while you were doing that. I mean, I know it's wrong to steal, and I'm not telling you that you are off the hook for stealing just because you were thinking of me, I mean, you wanted to look good and smell good, _for me._ You had pure intentions, no evil stuff, or whatsoever." We both chuckled at that.

"And you are not perfect. Even I am not. Everyone has flaws but people have the tendency to over look it, because they care about someone. I love you, Edward. You are my friend. You are one of the truest friends I have. Our friendship has no mixtures of greediness, no joyriding. You're not hopeless. You just started to discover life late. Your my little late bloomer." I told him as affectionately as a friend should be, encouraging me to look forward to life. He stared at me for a second, and his face broke out into a wide grin.

"I love you too, Bella. You're my greatest friend!" He said joyously.

"Greatest friend? Do you have others to compare me with or am I just your only friend?" I teased him lightly. He stuck his tongue out and scrunched his nose. His tongue retreated to his mouth, and I pinched his nose. He let out a loud huff and whined about me treating him like a baby.

"So, let's eat! I mean, c'mon, you dressed up, so I have the liberty to take you out!" I yelled at him, excited. He rolled his eyes at me. I held his hand and we walked towards the parking lot. I felt someone staring at me again, and I whipped my head to look back. I saw nothing but the cars passing by and the street lights.

"What's up, Bella?" He asked me, looking back as well, checking what I was seeing, _or not seeing._

"Uh, nothing. Just looking if..you know, I left something on the sidewalk. I have the tendency to drop some things." I said and covered it up with a laugh. He seemed convinced and gave out a small chuckle. We stopped in front of my car and Edward gave out a gasp. I looked at him and his eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth was slightly opened. I giggled and waved my hand across his face.

"Hello? Any earthling inhabitants in there?" I joked at him. That seemed to snap him out of his reverie.

"Woah. This is one sick car. Is this a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Coupe?" He asked me in astonishment. I got confused. How'd the heck did he know what type of Lamborghini this is?

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"I read it in the newspapers. You know, new stuff." He said and chuckled nervously.

"So, let's go?" He asked me. I opened my car and slid inside. I tossed my tote on the space behind my car seat and unlocked the passenger door. Edward slid in and closed the door. He strapped his seatbelt on and admired the beauty of my car.

"It's beautiful, aye?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said, breathless. I strapped my seatbelt on and drove towards my favourite restaurant, _Il Mio Bella. _We talked all the way to the restaurant, about out day. He talked about his "stealing" of clothes.

"The dude went to the showers and I went to his bag. I saw these ones and I knew they would fit me, so I took it. I took a shower and found some spare towel and took a bath there. I dried myself with a towel and went to the dressing rooms. I wore his clothes and tiptoed outside. I saw him, running around with just a towel, screaming 'Where are my clothes? I'm sure I packed them!'"

I had to give out a laugh, because I imagined the guy running around only clad in some towel. Admit it, it was funny.

I parked in the parking lot and took my tote. I reached for the handle of the door, but failed, because it was already open. Edward was already there, his hand open.

"Let's go, my lady." He said as I took his hand. I got out of the car and closed the door. I locked it and tossed the keys back into my tote.

"Chivalry is dead." I said.

"Bella, just like you said, _Don't generalize people._" He said and laughed. I smacked him on the arm and we walked in the restaurant, hand in hand. The door opened and I smiled at the guard there. He made a gesture with his hand that we could go in straight away. Edward and I both went to the receptionist. It was a kind looking female in her 40s.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Edward beat me to it.

"A table for two." He said in a kind voice. The woman smiled at both of us and led us to a private section of the restaurant. She told us our server would be there in a few minutes, and she gave us the menu. I scanned it and found what I liked. Then, at that exact moment, the server came. Wow, what a coincidence.

"Hi, I'm Angela and I'll be your server tonight. What is your liking from this magnificent selection of foods?" She asked us.

"I'll have a Penne all'arrabbiata, Mushroom Ravioli, and some red iced tea." I said to her. She turned to Edward and asked him what he would like to order. I thought about ordering something for him, since he hasn't been.._eating_ in restaurants liked this, but, once again, he shocked me.

"Orecchiette with broccoli, chili flakes and Parmesan, Mushroom Ravioli and a coke, please." He said and the server said that she will be back with our orders after 15 minutes. That gave us some time to talk.

"Tell me, how did you know about that? I thought you..you know." I told him. He smiled slightly and gave me the newspaper reason again. I just smiled back, not wanting to pry anymore.

"So..Edward, tell me something more about you."

"Well.." he said and proceeded to tell me about his life. We talked about everything and anything. His parents, My parents, his childhood, my childhood, his favourites, my favourites and everything else in between. The server came and we took a couple bits of our food, drink, then talk again. I never had so much fun in my entire life. Not even when I was playing Rock Band with Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett, then Emmett stripped into his boxers and socks and he slid on the floor pretending to be some kind of rock star, but ended up crashing into the plasma TV, his ass sticking out in front of us.

This is a night to remember.

_No walls, no houses  
In my empty hometown,  
Not a single gateway, but you know  
Darling, under my wing is your sweet, sweet home  
Darling, under my wing is your sweet, sweet home_

_**Brainstorm - Under My Wing**_

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**Author's Note:**

**Hey, guys! I just thought that I'm not getting that much love. :(**

**So, I've decided that I'll update, based on the amount of reviews that I get. If I get around 5-10 more reviews, I'll upload the next chapter after a week. 11-15, let's say, after 3 days. 16-20, tomorrow! Seems fair? ;)**

**So, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! XD**

**xoxo,**

**Allison Emma.**


	3. Know That

**Carrying A Cardboard Box**

**Chapter 3 - Know That**

**Author's Note:**

**Heya people! First of all, thanks to those who reviewed. I feel so loved. I mean, seriously, I do. Reviews keep me inspired. SO, keep on doing that. **

**Oh, and summer's here! Yay! That means I could focus on my stories more than ever. I have so much time in my hands, except if my mom continues to enroll me in swimming classes. I mean, seriously, I freaking know how to swim! **

**Oh, the french thingies here, I just got them on Babelfish. Yes, I know that I should know how to speak French since I'm in Canada and all, but the French language doesn't really interest me. I'd rather do Spanish. Here are the translations!**

**Bon après-midi, mon nom est Eric. Je suis votre serveur aujourd'hui. - Good afternoon, my name is Eric. I am your waiter for today.**

**Gentil de vous rencontrer, Eric. Je suis Edward et je suis sûr que vous savez que c'est Bella. Pourrions-nous te demander de nous donner les menus? - Nice to meet you, Eric. I am Edward and I am sure that you know that this is Bella. Could we ask you to give us the menus?**

**Ah, je suis désolé. J'irai l'obtiens - Ah, I'm sorry. I will go and get them.**

**Voici les menus, je seront de retour après quelques minutes. - Here are the menus, I will return after a few minutes.**

**Comment est-ce que je peux vous aider, Mlle Isabella? - How can I help you, Miss Isabella?**

**Avez-vous des menus qui ne montre pas les prix? - Do you have menus that doesn't show the prices?  
**

**Oui. J'irai l'obtenir pour vous maintenant. - Yes. I will go and get it for you now.**

**Merci beaucoup - Thank you very much.**

**Fouille dedans! - Dig in!  
**

**That's all. Read and REVIEW! :)**

**

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**BPOV**

It's been day three of Edward and I's friendship. Yes, I call it days, not minutes, even though I knew, we were friends for only around 3 hours and 5 minutes.

I couldn't forget Edward. Not that I want to, but he's simply occupying my mind. I can't help but wonder if I would see him again, what was he doing at this time, or is he alright. I didn't want to leave Edward yesterday to sleep on the streets, but he wouldn't budge. No matter how I pleaded, it seemed to have no affect on him. He just ignored my pleas and bade me goodbye. I was defeated that night. My stubbornness usually got me to win arguments. Some people say I should've been a lawyer.

_Flashback_

_Edward and I finished our food and I paid for the bill. He promised to pay me back someday. I just nodded, not really going to let him pay at any time if he doesn't have a stable job, a house and some food. I wouldn't let him pay me back, also because our bill was a little more than 400 dollars. Lucky the menus there didn't have the prices, or else, I'll be totally busted, and he would've ordered some cheap ass food._

_"C'mon Edward! Sleepover tonight! Don't want your awesome clothes to get dirty!" I said excitedly. I wanted to invite him to my house because I don't want him staying out in this cruel world alone. I just gave him a pitiful reason about his clothes, just to cover it up._

_"Nope, Bella. You make me feel like I'm a minor. For your information, I'm twenty-" I stopped him short._

_"Yes, I know, you're twenty-five. You were born on June 20, 1984." I told him. He just looked at me and smiled._

_"Exactly. So I'm going to head out now. Bye, Bella! Goodnight." He said and started to turn around. I grabbed his wrist, stopping him._

_"But, Edward! Your clothes are so pretty! I don't want them to get dirty!" I whined. Last shot._

_"I thought you didn't care how I look or smell, Bella?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, looking smug. I rolled my eyes and sighed._

_"I just want you to be safe, Edward. Stay with me?" I said with a pout. I looked at him, under my lashes, making my eyes go wider. He shut his eyes._

_"I'll be okay. BYE! Goodnight!" He said while his eyes were closed and turned around. He started walking._

_"Wait, where are you going? I could at least give you a ride!" I yelled at him. He looked at me with now opened eyes._

_"I was going to get my box and my other stuff. I left it across the sidewalk of your building, near the dumpster." He told me. I smiled widely and ran towards him. I quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him towards my car. I unlocked the passenger door and shoved him in. I closed the door and ran on the driver's seat. I closed my door and locked both of them. I took out the keys from my tote and threw it back under my seat. I put the key in and turned it. The engine purred into life and I let go of the keys. I started driving and I turned on the radio. "California Gurls" by Katy Perry was on._

_"California girls, we're unforgettable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top! Sun kissed skin, so hot, we'll melt your popsicle! Oh woah-oah-oah, Oh woah-oah-oah!" I sang loudly. Edward chuckled beside me. I just continued on singing while I was driving and he was sitting there, just listening to me._

_We reached his destination and I reluctantly opened the door. He looked at the dumpster, and I did too. I saw his box there. He let out a sigh of relief and he hopped out of the car. He said goodbye happily and walked towards his destination, but not before closing the door. I told him goodbye, but all I did was do rounds on the place. I didn't think he noticed me, because when I came back, I saw his box in an alley. I drove for another 10 rounds, and then parked somewhere near the dumpster. Good thing my baby has such a quiet engine, or else, he'd wake up. I got out of my car, locked it and saw that Edward was sleeping inside of the huge cardboard box, and he was in a sitting position, with his legs loosely folded to himself. He looked so peaceful and he actually had a smile on his face._

_I sat beside him, and leaned on his box, my head beside his. My eyes closed and I took a nap beside him, bathing myself in his warmth. I just had to make sure he's alright._

_End Flashback_

That's pretty much how my night went. I just came back here in my penthouse around 3 in the morning. I didn't want him to see me there, or else he'll probably be mad. Well that's Edward for you.

I quickly took a quick shower in my bathroom and wrapped myself in a robe. I took my towel and wrapped it around my hair. I slipped my feet in my fluffy blue slippers and I went to my walk in closet. I went to get my lingerie, of course, then headed to my wife beaters to get a white one. I got some high waist slacks and my black booties. I wore all of them and went to my _mini salon._ I sighed, thinking of what I should do to my hair. I shrugged and put it on a loose bun, just to relieve the back of my neck from the heat. I'll just style that later. I opened my make-up kit and got my black eye shadow pencil. I closed my eyes and dabbed some on my eyelids. I smeared them using a cosmetic sponge until it's just gray-ish. I opened my glitter thing and put just a small amount on my lids. I took my black eyeliner and lined the bottom part of my eyelids, just above the eyelashes and some on the lash line of my lower eyelids. I then got my black mascara and put it on. I put some clear lip gloss and decided that I'll just go with that look. There, I look decent. I looked at the time and...shit. I'm going to be late!

I ran to my room and grab my black D&G bag that has ribbons all over it as decorations. I stuffed my now charged Blackberry in there and ran outside. I went down using the elevator again, but stopped on the Lobby. I went out and lined behind all of the business men and women in front of me. A business woman looked behind her and saw me. She looked surprised and made a motion for me to go in front of her. I shook my head. She rolled her eyes.

"Hey! Miss Swan is here! Could everyone step back and let her go first? I know everyone is going to be late, but she got so much companies on hold that it might cause something drastic!" She yelled. Everyone looked at me and I blushed. They made a way for me and I walked past through, but not before saying thank you to the kind woman. She said that it had been her pleasure and I blushed redder. I stepped into the taxi and told him the address of the building.

I waited for quite some time before we got there. I threw him a hundred bill and I heard an enthusiastic voice said thank you. I laughed and went in the double doors. I greeted everyone there, not a new thing. I do this every morning. Well, not really, but I do this usually. I stepped in the elevator and the elevator boy already knew. I mentally chuckled and stood near the door. Whenever a light would appear, he would just press it back, so we wouldn't stop over on that floor. Everyone knew that if that happens, I'm in that elevator.

The sound of the elevator was heard and I was off. I walked towards my secretary, greeted her good morning and told her that she had the morning off, because I won't be checking her reports today. She looked grateful and dashed outside the office. I laughed at her and went in my office. I threw my bag on the couch and walked towards my office chair. I sat on that and turned on my laptop. I pressed the circular button that says 'power' and it turned on. I waited for it to load. I pressed my account there and it waited for a finger scan. I pressed my finger on the touchpad and it scanned it. Next, it required some eye scan and I positioned my eye in front of the camera. It matched and my account opened. I started researching about Jewels, my jewelry store. I looked at the graph it shown and saw it was slowly going down, and when I researched Tifanny & Co., they were slowly increasing. I need to think of something..

_Cue the light bulb flashing above my head, 'cause damn, I just had an idea._

I remember one time, I passed a high school area when I was on a trip and I heard some kid say that some dude was famous because of his meaningful drawings. What if I hired someone who could do that and make it into my jewelry? Perfect.

I called the Jewel's president, Alexa Kuthberson, and told her about my plan. She told me she would research about people who do that kind of thing and she would make it work. I smiled through the phone and we said goodbye to each other. _Yes, another thing out of the way. _

I sorted things on my desk, again and arranged the contracts that I signed. I typed some things on my computer, addressing to the people I had the next project up next. I asked them where we should meet and go start the project. I also typed in the reports and the graphs of the companies and sent it to my father. I accepted some calls from some of my companies and told me about some launchings in the countries in the world that we didn't have a branch of our products. Then, some _other_ companies asked me if our company was still available to partner with them in the fields that we don't cover. I checked the contracts I already signed and unfortunately, some already offered that to us. I accepted the other ones that we still haven't gotten yet. I put some notes on my stick notes pad, and stuck it on top of the folder.

I looked at the clock and it was already noon. I looked behind me, I could see everything there. I saw Edward, playing on the concrete again. He told me he had a piano once, before he hd been thrown into his current life. He said that he had memorized every key and every tune, so he knows what he's doing. I believed him. I waited for him to look up and his face lightened up when he saw me. My face broke out into a grin too and I put my finger in front of me and curled it, and did it again. It was a gesture to tell him to go in. He looked a little dirty now, but it was alright. He nodded and packed his things. I walked out of my room and went into the elevator. It opened immediately and I told the elevator boy to press 'L.' He complied and pressed it. I waited for it to go down all 62 floors and I walked out of it. I went to the doors and saw that Edward looked mad. I walked a bit more and saw he was arguing with the security guard. I quickly strode towards them.

"HEY! What's going on?" I said loudly to the guard.

"This," he said and made a disgusted face,"_hobo _wanted to come in our building. I wouldn't let him in. Then he told me that _you,_ invited him in. It was totally impossible. You associating with this type of guy is just-" I cut him off.

"How dare you say this about _Edward_? You being a security guard doesn't mean you're levels higher than him, because guess what, buddy? I could immediately _fire _you and you and your family _will be hobos._ Your current job doesn't really need a high educational background, you know. You just need training and then you're done. So, what makes you think that you are better than him. The only thing that you have that he doesn't, is a job. And if you want to keep that job of yours, keep yourself in check and don't think so highly of yourself." I told him. I couldn't believe the nerve he had to talk like that to Edward. He isn't that much higher than Edward, so he shouldn't act so highly.

He nodded at me, scared for him and his family. I took Edward's hand and went inside. There was a restaurant inside the building, just in case we don't have the time to go out. Well, the restaurant here, we own it too. It's called _Le Soleil Apaisant_, which means 'The Calming Sun' in French. I led him in, which earned us stares from people. I raised my eyebrows, daring them to go stare some more. They all looked down and minded their own businesses. I led him to the table reserved for me, my family and friends. It was a huge, circular booth beside the garden doors. I raised my hand to attract a server's attention. Then, a kind looking male went to us.

"Bon après-midi, mon nom est Eric. Je suis votre serveur aujourd'hui." He said to me. I prepared to say something back, when once again, Edward did a shocking thing.

"Gentil de vous rencontrer, Eric. Je suis Edouard et je suis sûr que vous savez que c'est Bella. Pourrions-nous te demander de nous donner les menus?" He said smoothly. I was flabbergasted. I didn't know he speaks French. WHERE'D THE HECK DID EDWARD LEARN ALL OF THESE?

"Ah, je suis désolé. J'irai l'obtiens."

"Okay." I just stared at Edward.

"Hey, not just because I'm a _hobo_ I can't do anything that good." He said. I snapped out of my trance.

"You are NOT a hobo. You are just a person that needs financial help." I said to him simply.

"Thanks, by the way. For defending me. I really appreciate that. It's not everyday someone goes and defend me from other's hurtful words." He said gently and squeezed my hand.

"Hey, but you gotta admit it, I was right, aye?" I said and threw in a giggle. He chuckled beside me as the waiter came back with two menus.

"Voici les menus, je seront de retour après quelques minutes." The waiter said kindly and we took the menus. I looked at it and saw the prices were there. I quickly snatched Edward's menu from his hand.

"Hey!"

I ignored him and went quickly to Eric.

"Comment est-ce que je peux vous aider, Mlle Isabella?"

"Avez-vous des menus qui ne montre pas les prix?" I asked him. He looked confused for second, but then a light bulb moment happened. Don't ask me why I knew he had a light bulb moment. I just know stuff. Leave it to that.

"Oui. J'irai l'obtenir pour vous maintenant." He said and left. He came back only after a few moments.

"Merci Beaucoup." I said and returned to Edward and I's place. He looked at me weirdly and I gave him his menu. I smiled at him brightly and went to pick a food that I like, while Edward chose his. The waiter- I mean, _Eric,_ came back after a few minutes.

"What would you like, for today?" He said in a heavy French accent.

"Umm, I would like some Barbecued andouillette, Bouillabaisse, and some Poire belle Hélène. Oh yeah, and water." I said to him. Edward started his order.

"I'll have some Baeckeoffe, and water." Edward said shyly. I noticed that he ordered only his main course and _freaking _water.

"No, Edward. Order more." I said. Well, more like _commanded. _He shook his head and folded his arms childishly.

"Fine then. Eric, add some Bisque de Crevettes and Mille-feuilles. Thanks." I said to him and Eric said he'll be back after 10 minutes, to serve us our food. After Eric left, Edward blew his lid off.

"HEY! Why'd you order that? I'm fine with the main course and water. Now, I'll be so in debt with you." He pouted. I laughed at him.

"I'll never let you pay, Edward-" I was cut off by Edward protesting. I glared at him and he shut up.

"You didn't let me finish. I'll never let you pay unless you have a stable job, a house, and extra money."I told him.

"That'll never happen, Bella." He said softly and he looked away.

"Why are you being so pessimistic, Edward? You'll find some stable job, someday! I could help you and enter you in a university!" I said excitedly. He looked back at me with glassy eyes.

"I don't want your help, Bella. I could live my life like this. I'm being such a burden.." Tears spilled from his eyes and from there, I knew, I hit a soft spot. _Education._ I went beside him and hugged him fiercely. He sobbed on my shoulder, letting it all go. I rubbed his back and whispered soothing words to him.

"You're not a burden, Edward. You'll never be. You ARE my friend. Friends are always there for each other. I just want the best for you because you DESERVE the best. After all you've been through, you deserve the best. Only the BEST." I whispered to him. He nodded weakly and took his face off my shoulder. His eyes looked alarmed.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I wrecked your clothes. Now, your white wife beater has mud all over the shoulder part." He said and his hand immediately flew to get tissues from the center of the table. I caught his hand, stopping him.

"S'alright. You are more important than some fancy clothing. Plus, I have tons of this at home. Don't worry." I said and smoothed the creases that formed on his forehead. He relaxed at my touch and murmured a soft sorry.

"Here's your food. Fouille dedans!" Eric said and left us. He separated my food from his. I quickly said a prayer and got my knife and fork, and sliced the Barbecued andouillette. Edward ate his and we sat there, eating in companionable silence.

* * *

We left the restaurant and headed for the carnival. I called Jennie and told her that I won't be in office from the afternoon. She said 'okay' and I hung up.

I tugged on Edward's hand when we reached the entrance of the carnival. I am such a big fan of carnivals. Ever since I was a little kid, my parents had always brought me here. I paid for our entrance and an all-day ticket that were placed as bracelets on both of our wrists. I grinned at Edward, before entering.

"Wow.." I said dreamily. Edward just smiled at me and looked round. I saw the Flying Swings. It was like a huge pillar then there was like a fiesta hat on top of it. Swings were attached to it, and when it spins, it's like we're flying. It's so much FUN! I dragged Edward to the line and we waited. I kept babbling about how fun it's gonna be to Edward, and he just kept listening to me. He was laughing when I finished, panting. It was our turn. I excitedly showed my bracelet and shoved Edward's to the guy's face and he looked at me, scared. He led us in and strapped us into the duo swing. You know, where two people could sit there.

We started flying around and around, the wind making my hair and Edward's go messier. I just laughed and giggled all the way until it stopped. I was a bit dizzy, but Edward held me up. We walked to the next, which was the space shuttle. It's a huge rollercoaster ride that has a lot of twists, loops and mountains. I lined up to the back again and started bouncing with excitement. When we reached the front, I shoved Edward and I's bracelet and raced to the back. The back part of the rollercoaster is where you feel all of the twists and turns that you did. We sat there and put the vest thing on our bodies. I was shaking on my seat, because of the excitement, when Edward put his hand on my shoulder. I relaxed and waited for it. Then, the main event came. We sped through the whole course. I kept on screaming and screaming in delight while we were doing the loops, the twists and the hills. Edward was just beside me, laughing and screaming at some parts.

We tried out all of the rides in there, until Edward got tired. I know, you're surprised because _Edward,_ big, strong, handsome Edward, got tired. What can I say, I have unlimited energy for carnivals. We sat down on one picnic table and I got some corndogs for us. He ate it with ketchup, while I ate it with mustard on the bottom, mayonnaise in the middle and ketchup on the top. Edward looked at me like I was an alien.

"What?" I asked him. He suddenly laughed out loud.

"WHAT?" I exclaimed at him again, exasperated. He shakily pointed a finger to my cheek and then I touched that part. It had something fluid-y there. I wiped it, and saw that it was ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard. I wiped it again, but it smeared all over my face. I pouted and Edward sat beside me. Little did I know he was about to do something disgusting.

He licked my cheek.

I jumped away from him and started screaming like a little girl. Edward cracked up again, holding on the table for support. A plan formulated in my head. Edward looked at me then started backing away. I grinned at him evilly. I took the case of my corndog which has all of the condiments of my corndog. I rolled my corndog on it, making it all covered by the three condiments. I ran towards him, full speed and tackled him down the grass. He let out an 'oof' when we hit the floor and I took that as a sign to attack. I smeared the condiments of my corndog all over his face. He started screaming in a high pitched voice, struggling to get away from me. But I was sitting on his tummy and my feet were stopping his arms. I know he could get up, but he doesn't want to hurt me.

I smeared it once more, and then stood up and took a step back, admiring my work. He suddenly sat up and looked at me devilishly. I threw the corndog at his face and then ran away. I heard him groan and started to chase me. I may not be the fastest runner, but I could avoid obstacles easily. I ran through all the corners, all the places where there are crates, avoiding him. I was running out of the alley and started going for the next one, but I felt an arm on my stomach stopping me. Another arm went to the other side of my waist and locked both of his hands together. _Edward._ He started spinning us around, my hair going crazy. I squealed and giggled, while Edward just laughed.

When we stopped, I saw that we had formed a crowd. I blushed and Edward made them go away. Everyone went away until only one old lady was left. She gave us a smile and turned to leave but not before saying something to us.

"You two make a very perfect couple."

_I like the way I feel _  
_The way you keep it real _  
_So many simple things _  
_That you don't know the joy you bring _  
_I like how you and me work _  
_when we hang out we're so happy _  
_I never want it to end _

**_Destiny's Child - Know That_**


	4. I'll Be There

**Carrying a Cardboard Box**

**_Disclaimer: Not mine. Just merely playing with the characters Stephenie Meyer created. Butttt, the plot is mine. ;)_**

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**Chapter 4 - I'll Be There**

**BPOV**

It's Thursday, May 14, Thursday. I have no major work today, so I decided to call Jennie and inform her that I won't be going to office today. I punched in the numbers of the office phone and held it up to my ear. It rang and rang for quite a bit, until Jennie's voice came through the phone.

"Hello, Miss Swan's office, how could I be in service for you?" She spoke professionally.

"Hey, Jennie! I would just inform you that I won't be going to work today. Handle everything! Report to me when my work less situation is done. 'kay?" I said, in a non-formal way.

"Sure. Bye, Miss Swan!"

"Bye!"

I ended the call and started to clean myself. I was picking up Edward today, again, for a surprise. I'm letting him meet my bestest friends EVER. I took a quick shower and headed to my walk in closet. I settle for something casual; skinny jeans and a Paramore band shirt. I put on my lingerie and my casual clothes. I didn't even bother to wear make-up today. I'm not really comfortable with it, when I'm not working. I took my socks and my black worn out converse that I had since I was 22. My feet stopped growing, so I was pretty sure I won't outgrow it. I jumped on to my bed, streched my right arm and grabbed my tote and my BlackBerry from my dark, oak nightstand. I rolled on the bed for quite some time before I went out of my room. I walked to the elevator and told him to press 'L.' He looked quite shocked at what I was wearing. It's not everyday you see a business person wear casual clothes and look like a normal person.

We arrived at that floor after 2 minutes. I ran out of the building and hailed a cab. The cab driver looked surprised too. I ignored him and told him to go to address of my office. While he was driving, I called Alice.

_ring..ring.._

"Heya, Bells!" Her perky voice chirped through the phone.

"Hey, I need a favour. Could you call all of our other friends and meet up with me at the penthouse? I need to-"

"introduce someone to us. Yeah, I know. I had a feeling." she said, interrupting my speech. I just giggled. She had these weird feelings that would make her know what would happen. I never bet against Alice. Never, partially because she's always right. I also don't bet with her, because if she wins, I'm guessing- I mean, I _know _that her prize would be Bella Barbie time, which I totally dreaded. It's one of my top ten dreaded things/people.

"Okay. We'll be over by," I checked the time on the cab, it was 8:10 am, "10. I'll bring some movies and you have stocks of movies there, right? We'll have our long lost tradition of _Family _night back. But now, with my new friend." I said slyly in the end, not wanting them to know who it is, just for the pleasure to hear Alice beg.

"WHO IS IT? Is it a guy? A girl? A jerk? A bitch? A harlot? A hobo?" I heard Alice say and I cringed at her last question. _A hobo?_ Since I met Edward, I always cringe when I hear the word hobo and sometimes, flip out.

"Uh, I'll just tell you later." I told her.

"NOOOOOO! Tell me now, pretty please with pink Gucci bags on top?" She said, using her sort of childish voice. I laughed, it never worked on phone. Only in real life.

"Nope. See ya!" I said. I was going to hung up when I heard Alice say,

"DON'T YOU DARE HUNG UP-" but, unfortunately for her, I hung up. The car halted into a stop and I paid him my fare, with some tip, of course. I stepped out of the cab and saw Edward beside the dumpster, again. He was tapping the concrete yet again. I walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He grinned at me and put his things back to his box. He closed it and picked the whole box up.

"What's up, Bells? You look, non-business like today." He said and gave me a smile. I laughed. His face held confusion, and as he was opening his mouth to ask, I already gave him the answer.

"Everyone noticed it. I mean, first, the elevator boy, next the cab driver, and now, YOU!" I said and giggled. He shook his head at my shallowness.

"So, this is a surprise. I thought you'd be up in your building with those damn reading glasses that looked hot on you." He teased. I hit his shoulder playfully.

"Shut up."

"But, really, what's up?"

"I have a surprise for you!" I told him excitedly.

"Bel-la.." He groaned. I knew he hated girls surprising him. It makes him feel like a girl. I just giggled at him and took his hand, and started to walk. I was pulling him forward, but I didn't feel him move. I looked back and saw that he was looking at me, shyly.

"Could I bring my box? I'm scared that it'll get lost. I have some..important things that I've recently put in here." He said softly and darted his eyes away from my form. I rolled my eyes at him. He was so silly. I mean, c'mon, how could I ever deny him? He's my friend and my soon-to-be best friend for life. He didn't need to ask permission. But, I guess he just felt that it would be a burden to us, because it is kinda big.

"Of course, you silly dork. Now, c'mon, we need to do grocery for our guests!" I said and dragged him and his box to the streets. I hailed a cab and once it stopped, I told the driver to pop open the trunk. I put Edward's box in there and I shut the trunk closed. Edward opened the door for me, I blushed, and slid in. He slid beside me, closing the door. I told the driver to drive us to Wal-Mart. We were in comfortable silence, until we reached Wal-Mart. I threw whatever cash was on my hand when I took a bill from my wallet. I'm not sure. It's either a 10,20, 50, or a 100. We picked up his box and I yanked him towards the doors of Wal-Mart, and got his box stored in the customer service thing. I took a cart and we strolled around Wal-Mart.

Believe it or not, I was a big fan of Wal-Mart. I like all the stuff they sell here, because it's very cheap. You could find different brands and types of that thing you like!

We immediately went to the food section. I told him to grab anything he likes, while I search for what I like. I left him with the trolley and I searched up in the aisles. I found some microwavable popcorn and candies. I grabbed the cheese popcorn and grabbed 3 boxes of 8 pack popcorn. I took a container of some sour worms, sour keys and sour geckos. I balanced the containers on top of each other and looked at the sweet ones. I picked 3 boxes of Gobstoppers, Runts, and Nerds. I put them on top of the boxes of popcorn I had on my left arm. I walked slowly, not wanting it to fall. I came back to the trolley and saw that almost nothing changed, except for 3 small packs of crackers which only had three pieces of crackers in each. I immediately felt bad. I looked at him and saw that he was still looking at the aisles, with wonder and confusion in his eyes. I made my presence known by dropping all of the things I had on top of his crackers, therefore, crushing them to teeny-tiny pieces. He looked at me, shocked, before his attention went to the crackers.

"No, I won't let you have those damn crackers. I told you to get whatever you want, and I know you want more, I could see it in your eyes. You've been on the streets for so long," he flinched, "so, I know you want to taste those foods. Don't feel like you're such a burden. You already repaid me for everything I could offer you."

"How?"

"Just being you. Never changing, not turning into one of those street guys who live off of fighting."

Silence was laid between us thickly. You couldn't hear any words, other than the steady breaths that we give out, the other shoppers on the other aisles, and the beeping sounds of items being scanned. I stared at him for so long, until he let out a loud, and long sigh.

"Thank you." He whispered. I walked towards him and gave him a hug that was full of reassurance. He hugged me back, and let go immediately. He started to pick some bigger cans of biscuits, and bags of chocolates. I grinned and skipped merrily. He threw in some chocolate covered sticks, white chocolate bars, chocolate lollipops and whatnot. We moved on the next aisle, which were just sacks of flour, potatoes and crates of milk. We were in the middle of the aisle, when I felt the trolley stop. Edward walked over to a sack of flour and looked at it. I walked to him, just beside the sack.

"You think we could try and bake later?" He asked me. I nodded and looked up the shelves where a crate caught my eye. It was slightly out of place, that if it was bumped, it would immediately smash into the ground. Edward patted the flour sack, causing some of the flour to escape and go towards my face. I coughed a bit and playfully glared at Edward. I put my hands on my hips and stared at him.

"You did not just push flour onto my face." He shaped his mouth into a perfect 'O' and put his hand above his heart dramatically.

"How dare you accuse me of that such thing!" He mocked gasped.

I pulled the sack from the shelf and got ready to throw it. But then, the shelf shook and the crate fell down to the floor, the milk, bursting from it. It sprayed all over us and now we were soaked. I stepped onto it, trying to get out of the huge milk lake, but I slipped, the flour flying through the air. Edward tried to catch it, but ended up slipping, landing beside me. The sack was flying, and then it landed, the sack tearing apart, causing all of them to get out of the sack. It covered us and now we felt sticky. I looked at Edward and saw that he was pure white. The milk was softening up the flour, causing it to look like cornstarch was mixed with water. We both spit out the mixture that came to our lips at the same time. We giggled, and this is such a picture perfect moment, so I wiped my hands on the other dry sacks and opened my tote and got my camera. I positioned it in front of us and I set it into a two-second timer. We posed together, grinning our ass off and it flashed. I quickly kept it in my bag and called for some assistant.

One saw us and rushed to our aid. He asked us how did it happen and told them the whole story, lying a bit about not having the intention to start a chaos. He believed me instantly, when I told him that I'm such a busy person and I won't have any room for things like that. He took the trolley and led us to the staff room. He made us shower in there and gave us free clothes, taking off the tags. We smelt okay now and we went out of the room pushing our trolley. The instant we got out, we were giggling like crazy. We laughed the whole way and we started throwing random things inside the trolley. When we were finished, we had two trolleys, both full. Then, we headed straight for the cashier.

We saw a woman in her 50's. She looked very beautiful. She had black hair and icy blue eyes. She offered us a smile.

"Hey, guys." She said sweetly. We said 'hey' back. She started to swipe the things in the scanner. Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw Edward do various things with his face. Everytime that it would beep, his face would make a different expression, or imitation. She did a pig imitation, ke$ha's drunk look and whatnot. I was laughing the whole time it was happening. I heard the lady say that she would be announcing the amount. She let me regain my composure for a bit, and she told us the total.

"It's 146.31 dollars. Cash or card?" She asked me. I opened my bag and went through my stuff. I got my wallet and opened it. I took my debit card and showed it to her. She handed me the debit/credit card machine. I swiped it in and pressed the numbers of my pin. I handed it back to her and the receipt started to print. She put it in one of the plastics and we took the groceries.

"Have a good day." She said and turned to her next customer. We walked towards the customer service, lining up to claim his box. When we got to the front of the line, we claimed it and started to head out. We were going to go out, when I heard the familiar voice of the cashier lady call us. We turned around and asked her how we could help her. She shook her head.

"Stay together, you two! You guys look perfect for each other!" She yelled out and I felt blood rush through my cheeks. Edward put his head down and I saw his cheeks were tinted pink. That's the second time we got that. Oh well, we are close to being best friends after all. Maybe that's what she meant. We are the perfect friends. Yeah, that makes sense. We headed out and I hailed a taxi. One came and we loaded our things in the trunk. I gave the driver the address of my condo. Edward and I slid in the car and we talked about my surprise, but not tipping off on what it's about. Suddenly, my phone rang and I shot Edward an apologetic look. He just nodded and I saw that it was Alice. I answered it.

"Hey, Al!" I said excitedly.

"Hey, don't get all happy on me, missy. I am still pissy." She said, rhyming her words. I giggled at her.

"Sorry, Al. You know you love me. Is Whitlock, Hale, and McCarty there yet?" I asked her, whispering the last part.

"We all have been for like, 30 minutes." She whined.

"Oh. We're coming. See ya then! Love ya!" I said and ended the call. The car screeched into a stop and I paid the driver accordingly, with a 20 dollar tip. I unloaded the things and Edward carried his box and some of the groceries, while I carried the others. We walked into the condo and everyone there stopped. They parted, creating a way for Edward and I to walk through. It was like, I was Moses and they were the Red Sea. I walked through, leading Edward, who was looking at me in wonder. We arrived at the elevator place and I pressed all of the buttons that looked like a normal triangle. Edward stifled his laughter. I stuck out my tongue and waited for one to open.

"Why did everyone like, part their ways for you?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know, really. They just do. I tried to tell them not to on the first few times they did it, but they didn't listen, so I just ignored it." One elevator dinged and we both went in.

"Oh. I never really saw that much people give up their time just to make way for you. I just usually see them bumping each other, trying to go first."

"Ah. Must've been a new experience to you."

"Really. All I thought was like, 'Bella is Moses and they were the Red Sea,' or something along those lines." He said. I laughed.

"Same!" I said and we arrived on the top floor. We stepped out of the elevator and we walked to my door. I put down the groceries I was holding, and took out the card key from my bag. I gave it to Edward. He looked alarmed.

"If this penthouse is the surprise, I won't accept it. This thing is big and I can't afford it. I mean, I don't even have the clothes to dress up the part! I can't even repay you after this! I won't accept it. I really mean it. I'm onl-" I stopped him from saying anything further more by covering his mouth with my hand.

"No, this is my penthouse. The surprise is inside. Now go, open it." I said and Edward slid the card through the card reader. The square thing lit up green and it was unlocked. He held in his breath and opened the door.

"WELCOME TO THE CLUB!"

_I'll be there to comfort you,_

_Build my world of dreams around you, I'm so glad that I found you_

_I'll be there with a love that's strong_

_I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on_

_I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on - yes I will, yes I will_

_Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter_

_Togetherness, well that's all I'm after_

_Whenever you need me, I'll be there_

_**Mariah Carey – I'll Be There**_

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**Author's Notes:**

**Hiya! I was bored and decided to put a new chapter. So, anyways, it's so hotttt here in Canada. I mean, damnnn, it's around 25 degrees Celsius. What's up with you guys? How's your summer? Or, if you started school already, how's it holding up?**

**Ohyeah, I just wanted to tell you guys that all reviewers will get snippets of the next chapter, which is in Edward and Alice's point of view. Well, mostly Edward. I thought it would be cool if you guys would know how Edward felt. I am not a boy, so I'm not that sure of his POV, but just..whatever.**

**So, yeah, whoever reviews gets a snippet of the next chapter! (I'll be giving you Alice's POV though. You'll get so much from that. Seriously.)**

**xoxo. **


	5. I'm Only Me When I'm With You

**Chapter 5 – I'm Only Me When I'm With You**

**A/N : I'M SO SORRY! My mom banned me from using my laptop and the family computer. I had nothing to use. I felt so useless. I hope you forgive me! Pure fluff here. ;)**

**Ohyeah, before I forget, Twilight is not mine. I wish it would be, but NO. :|**

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**EPOV**

"_WELCOME TO THE CLUB!"_

I stood there, stunned at the greeting. I could see four people there, all have grins in their faces after they shouted their greeting. _Welcome to the club?_ I didn't really get that. Is Bella's surprise for me a subscription to a _club? _

But this doesn't look like a club. I mean, there are only 4 people inside the _penthouse. _There was a pixie like girl jumping up and down. She was _tiny, _but she looked like she was a ball of energy. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat, or me finding a decent food from the dumpster. Your pick. Then, there was a blonde male who had shaggy hair that reached down to his chin. He looked tall, but quite shorter than me by a few inches. He had a hand on the pixie like girl's shoulder, as if he was calming her down. Then a blonde woman was sitting on a white couch, her legs crossed. She didn't look as enthused as _Pixie, _but she was smiling quite a bit. Her long golden hair flowed to the middle of her torso, the ends are curled. It looked quite shiny, if you ask me. Lastly, a huge male was standing up beside the blonde girl, looking almost as thrilled as _Pixie._ He was beefy, and looked intimidating, if only he wasn't smiling and his dimples weren't showing. Right now, he just looked like a giant teddy bear.

Then, I realized who they were. They weren't a club. They were a group. They were the _World's Elite Teens._ Otherwise known as WET. They were all the children of the top 5 richest people of the world. Bella's father, Charlie Swan, is the wealthiest man ever since their group of companies had started last 2001. They were once just a local company, but Charlie, married Renee Carnegie, the daughter Andrew Carnegie which was the Carnegie Steel Company. When Charlie and Renee had married, the companies that both sides of the family owned, had merged. They worked their way up, getting richer, until they were able to buy other companies. But tragically, Renee Carnegie-Swan had been murdered, and up until now, no one knows who, or why the person had murdered her.

Second wealthiest persons in the world is Rosalie Hale's parents, Emma and Adrian Hale. They were Real Estate dealers. Both of them came from the blood line of previous successful Real Estate dealers. They created mansions and houses on different parts of a specific area, which has a perfect view of a tourist spot, or whatever majestic image there is to attract customers. Their houses sells a lot, for a whole lot of money. They create new houses every 6 months to 2 years, but they also avoid cutting down trees. All they do is find a perfect, unused spot and they create their houses there. They are also activist to Save The World.

Third wealthiest person in the world is Alice Brandon's mother, Amelia Wilson-Brandon. Amelia was a big fan of clothing even when she was only a mere child. Her love of clothing had made her create new fashion trends. She sew her clothing plans, and ended up being discovered by her late husband, George Brandon. George Brandon was the CEO of a modeling agency. When he saw Amelia, he thought she was wearing a magnificent type of clothing and he had wondered why he hadn't seen that type of clothing before. Amelia introduced her clothings to him, and her clothings were reproduced, creating a fashion company. They married each other, and their companies had been in control of both. But, on the late part of 2009, George Brandon had died out of cancer.

Fourth wealthiest persons in the world is Emmett McCarty's parents, who were video game creators and producers of different types of technology. Believe it or not, Emmett's mother, Emily Jones-McCarty was an avid fan of video games. She liked playing video games and her interest with it had carried on up until her adulthood. She had thought of different situations, which ended up her, being able to create new games. She was extremely talented with computers as well. She knew all of those things for her to be able to create video games. Then, Garrett McCarty, had a father as an engineer. His father would teach him about the wires, the chips inside some gadgets and he taught him how to fix things. He was thoroughly interested on that stuff, and took Robotics as an extra curricular activity since the third grade. He was doing a robotics competition when he was in college, on his way to be a technologist, when he met Emily. They had a good relationship, and became husband and wife. They created a company through Garrett's prize money from all of the robotics competitions he joined and became a champion in.

Lastly, the fifth wealthiest people in the world are The _Cullens._ Carlisle Cullen is in the medical field. He was a surgeon, the best one there is. He owned large hospitals around the United States. Esme Cullen, his wife, owns an interior designing company. They both have different interests, and both of them are successful in their own fields. Dr. Cullen had a partnership going on with Bella's companies, to make his hospitals to become world known. They have _no children _that's known of and that's the reason why there are only five in WET. Tied to this place is Jasper Whitlock's father, Lance Whitlock. He owns a cellphone company, and an oil drilling company. Jasper was born out of wedlock and the mother, which is Maria Klein which is dead. She hanged herself in her apartment, after giving Lance's wish to her. Let Jasper live.

How do I know this stuff? You'd just have to wait and see.

"Haloooo, Eduardo, are yooo darr?" I heard a deep voice say. I snapped out of it and saw that a hand was waving across my face. I gingerly pushed his hand away, letting him know I was okay.

"How did you know my name? I mean, it's not Eduardo, it's Edward. But still. How did you know?" I asked him.

"Oh! While you were staring at a blank space, Bella introduced you to us!" A tinkling voice said. I looked at the person who owned this voice. Just as I suspected, it was Alice. Bella motioned for all of us to take a seat, but I shook my head. The others took a seat and I pointed towards the groceries. She looked surprised, her eyes widening. She looked liked a kid who was caught getting some candy. I laughed at her, and walked towards them. I picked up the plastics containing the things we bought and brought it to what seems to be her kitchen. I took out all of our stuff and put all of the groceries in their respective places.

"I completely forgot about these things! Good thing you remembered!" She laughed. I rolled my eyes playfully and stacked the cans we bought. I took out the pop cans and opened the fridge, but Bella stopped me.

"Just leave it there. We'd be taking that in the living room." She said and I shrugged. I left it on the counter top and started putting away the other things. She pulled out her apron, and I laughed. In the front, it says, "Kiss the Cooking Mama." She glared at me playfully and smacked my arm using a spatula.

"No, laugh-y about the Cooking Mama. Only kiss-y. But you, only friend. So, scrrram!" She said with an accent that I don't even know. I laughed and ran out of the room. Bella is such a goof. She's so funny and beautiful and kind. Any guy would be lucky to have a girl like her. She made me feel all tingly inside. God, I sound like a girl.

Everyone was there, just looking at me. I immediately looked down and walked to the nearest chair that was there.

"So.." I heard Alice say. I gulped. I don't think I'm ready to face the interrogations of the mighty Alice. She's scary.

**APOV**

When I saw Edward, I felt something build up inside me. Like, I knew him, but I didn't. There was something familiar about him. Something that reminds me of someone, but I just can't put it.

"So.." I said, trailing off. Edward was looking down, obviously embarrassed because we were all looking at him.

"Why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm sure Edward would like to know who we are." My Jazzy said. I agreed with him. I volunteered to be first to tell my story.

"I'm Mary Alice Brandon, and I'm 24 years old. I like shopping and designing clothes!" I said cheerfully. Rosalie scoffed.

"_Like?_ More like _obsessed _with shopping."

"Hey! I'm not obsessed with it! I'm-" Rosalie cut me off by starting to introduce herself. I glared at her. Big, gorgeous meanie.

"Rosalie Hale. I like shopping, and I like fixing up cars. I'm currently a model of Alice's clothing line."

"Emmett McCarty. My Rosie's fiancé. My familia owns a video game company and appliances company. We are Bella's technology supplier. I like Wrestling and paying video games and eating and laughing at Bells when she trips, which is rare now because of Alice and hugging and tacos and nachos and teddy bears and-"

"Shut up, Emmett. I'm Jasper Whitlock, Alice's fiancé. I like motorbikes and I have this weird thing because I could _feel _someone else's feelings." My Jazzy said. We waited for Edward to say something, but once again, he was staring blankly at a random space between Emmett and Jasper.

"He's Edward Masen. He was born on June 20, 1984. He likes to play the piano and he had an interesting life. He's proud of who he is, and no one could change that." I heard Bella say as she was coming out of the kitchen, holding a tray of cupcakes. She gave each of us one except Edward and I saw her get two. I was about to complain when I saw her smash the cupcake on Edward's mouth. Edward immediately snapped out of his trance and looked surprised. Bella laughed at him.

"That's what you get when you're not listening!" She said and giggled. Edward stood up and Bella ran. Edward ran behind her and I heard a loud thud. We all rushed towards the sound and saw that Bella was giggling like there's no tomorrow, on top of Edward. Edward was just laughing his ass off.

They looked good together. But, Bella said they're only friends. Plus, I don't know anything about Edward. At least I think.

_Flashback_

_"Hey, Eddie!" I heard my mini-self yell. A boy rushed beside me, looking panicked._

_"What is it, Ali? Are you hurt?" I heard the boy, 'Eddie' say. I shook my head and skipped merrily._

_"Alice. Don't call me again if you don't need anything. I'm playing!" I heard him groan. I just laughed and climbed up the swings. I put my little leg up, and held onto the chains. I tried to lift myself up, but ended up falling. My butt hurts, and I started to cry._

_"EDDIE, EDDIE, EDDIE!" I heard myself wailed. 'Eddie' rushed beside me and knelt down._

_"You could've called me, Ali." He said and lifted me up._

_"But, I thought you wouldn't come because I called you first, but I had nothing to say."_

_"Ali, I'll always be there. If I remember it right, I heard you mumble in your sleep that 'Edward Cullen is the best cousin ever.'" I smacked his arm and we both laughed._

_End of Flashback_

I felt someone shake me. I saw that it was Jasper. I hugged him and sobbed quietly. He knew instantly. There were times that a memory of my lost cousin would trigger in my brain, either because there was something that reminds me of him, or someone brought up that topic. Now, I don't know what triggered it. No one brought up the topic, and nothing reminded me of him.

Or, is there?

**EPOV**

I stuck my tongue out at Bella. She just rolled her eyes and got the bag containing the random things we bought. Scarves, gloves, game boards, bars of soap and some others that I forgot about. She tossed it in the middle of the room. Everyone looked at her questioningly.

"We start this by playing Alice's favourite game." Alice grinned. She started to get up, when Bella hurried to say something else.

"Except Bella Barbie." Alice frowned and sat back down.

"Truth or Dare." Everyone cheered, excluding me. I don't know how to react. I mean, what if they ask me some _personal _things that might get me in trouble? What if they knew who I really was?

"Everyone sit down and form a circle!" Bella said and we all obeyed. I sat in between of Bella and Emmett, Rosalie sat between Emmett and Jasper, Alice sat between Jasper and Bella.

"Who goes first?" I heard Alice say.

"I will!" Emmett's booming voice said. He raised his hand like a kindergarten student who wanted to have candy. All of them nodded in agreement.

"So, Alicia Brandona, Trrrruth orrr Darrrre?" He said, doing the accent Bella just did a while ago.

"Darrrre, me señor." She said, imitating the accent.

"Alice, I dare you to bite the overgrown nails on Jasper's feet." He said. All of us widened our eyes. _That _was truly disgusting.

"NOOOOO. That's disgusting. You know I love you Jazz, but I could never do that. Your feet, UGH! I can't. Is there a veto here? I could really use it right now. Pleaaase?" She rambled, begging Bella in the end. Alice's eyes widened, her lips slipped into a pout. Her lower lips was trembling, and her eyes were tearing up. Bella tried avoiding the look Alice gave her, but she just kept glancing back, as if there was a string pulling her face towards the direction of Alice's. Finally, she sighed and nodded.

"Yay! Vetoooo, baby!" She said joyously. She pumped her fist up, as if she'd won the lottery. The others rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"Rosalie, Truth or Dare?" Alice said quite menacingly. The others laughed, as if there was a said joke. Am I missing something? Bella decided to speak up.

"Last time we did a truth or dare, Rosalie dared Alice to burn all of her designer clothes. Alice had no vetoes by that time, because she was previously dared by Emmett to burn all of her sketches. So, Alice had no way out. She burned her clothes, and promised Rosalie to have her revenge." I laughed. Alice glared at me before staring at Rosalie with mischief behind her blue eyes.

Rosalie swallowed before stuttering out her answer.

"T-truth."

"Well, Rosalie, aren't we just a little chicken today?" Alice taunted. Behind her pixie form, she was a little devil.

"Uh, could you carry on with the question, Mary Alice?" Rosalie snapped. Alice's nostrils flared, the flame in her eyes, getting bigger.

"Hale, could you describe what happened to your date with Michael Newton? The date that you never told a soul about." She said evilly. Rosalie's face drained of color. She became pale. Paler than Bella, which is saying something. She started to hyperventilate. Her eyes glazed, as if she was remembering something. Emmett panicked and started rubbing her shoulders. Alice smiled an evil smile, while Bella just sat back, relaxing as if nothing was happening.

"C'mon Rosie, you know you could do it." Alice said, encouraging her, but there was a sadistic undertone to it.

"M-Mike Newton, the son of Mr. John Newton, a wealthy car dealer. I thought that if me and his son dated, they would let me see the cars they were redesigning. So, I went on a date with him. Mike treated me like a real gentleman, but be-because I was nervous, I dropped the fork I was holding. I bent down to pick it, but my shoulder accidentally tipped the bowl of soup and it fell on me. I rushed to get a napkin that I didn't notice that the tablecloth had tied a knot on near my leg. Of course, I stood up because the tissue holder was on Mike's side, and all of the plates and glasses fell down on me." Rosalie said, with her head down. We all held in our laughters, wanting Rosalie to go on.

"And I was wearing a fucking white dress! I looked at Mike and saw that he was grimacing. He asked for the bill, and the waitress, Jessica, laughed loud when she saw me, causing everyone else to look. They saw me and stifled their giggles. I excused myself so I could go to the restroom and when I came back, Mike was nowhere to be seen. I looked out of the restaurant and saw that he was kissing _Jessica, _our waitress on the hood of his car. I made my way towards them, with the last shred of my dignity to ask for a ride, but when I was just around 6 feet away from him, he saw me and looked alarmed. He told something to Jessica and fumbled through his keys. He got inside and Jessica did too. He immediately started the engine and drove off, leaving me there to walk home, drenched with the food we ordered." She said and hid her face with her hands. All of our faces were red. In about five seconds, all of us were rolling on the floor, laughing our ass off. Rosalie just sunk down the chair she was sitting on.

It took us quite some time before we regained our composure and we all crawled back to our own seats.

"Oh My God! So that's why you never came to our scheduled sleepover at that time!" Bella laughed out.

"You even told us through the phone that you brought Mike home and did _it_!" Alice exclaimed. That send all of us into another round of laughter. Rosalie composed herself and glared at all of us.

"Continue the game. Emmett, Truth or Dare?" Rosalie asked Emmett. I think she wanted to get revenge on her fiancé for laughing at her like that.

"I dare you to..streak naked towards Wal-Mart and buy me tampons while screaming 'Grease up my trunk, I'll put it inside your junk!" She said cruelly.

"But, Rosie! Do you want others to see my junk that only you could see? Do you want others to see what you see in our _private _time? Do you want others to feel me up?" He said, trying to worm his way out of the dare, but Rosalie, just shook her head, saying that he deserved it. Emmett resigned and started stripping. I started to look down, since this is like a minor porn thing. I looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him. Even Bella. She met my gaze and spoke.

"Edward, just look. We already have seen Emmett naked numerous times. You're hanging out with us, now, so lift your face and look." Bella said calmly. I just looked at them in horror, before looking up. Emmett was completely naked, his..length, was up, and it was quite humongous. I grimaced, since this is the first time ever to look at another man, naked.

"Wow, Edward. You look at me like I'm some gay who asked you to be my boy-toy." Emmett said and my eyes widened and I felt some heat rise up to my cheeks. Everyone laughed and he said his parting words.

"Farewell, mi amigos, mi amigas. I shall go and buy her some tampons!" He said and rushed out of the room, naked. Bella ran into her room and came back with a video camera in hand.

"Blackmail." She said and started to run out of the room. We followed her and walked into one elevator which just recently opened its doors. We ran in and Bella told the elevator guy to press 'L'. We ran out when we reached the lobby, and saw that Emmett was just going out of the building. The guards started to walk towards him, but Bella held up her hand, which the guards saw, and started to back away. I am still amazed how much power Bella has.

We ran out the door and Bella opened her video cam and started recording. Emmett was running in the middle of the road, screaming what Rose made him scream.

"GREASE UP MY TRUNK, I'LL PUT IT INSIDE YOUR JUNK!" Emmett screamed and received a lot of cat calls and wolf whistles. He kept on repeating it and we were just laughing all the way there. A lot of people looked at him, like he was a crazy man running naked, and some girls giggled at him. Disgusting or disgusting?

We reached Wal-Mart and were now tired after all that running. We saw Emmett going in the doors of Wal-Mart, when he was stopped by a police officer.

"SHIT!" The others said simultaneously. They looked panicked and started to fidget. The police officer cuffed Emmett and started to tow him to his car. Emmett was screaming for help and Bella shut off the video cam.

"Shit, Shit, double shit. Triple shit, Mega fuck." Alice cussed as Emmett was taken by the police officer. We hailed a cab and told him to go to the nearest NYPD station. Bella bribed him to go faster and she'll pay him triple with a hundred tip. Of course, who would pass up that opportunity? He didn't.

He zoomed through the traffic, running through red lights and getting screamed at by old senior citizens. We reached to the NYPD station and Bella threw the cab driver a five hundred. What a huge amount of money, considering what I am _now. _We inquired in the front desk about Emmett.

"Hi, um, Mr. Officer. But have you caught a guy who was streaking?" Bella asked in a sweet voice. The deputy was dazed by her sweet tune.

"Uh, yeah. Emmett McCarty charged of gross misdemeanor indecent exposure." He said and coughed. Some spit flew towards Alice and Bella. Their face reddened and looked like they were disgusted.

"Where is he? We're here to bail him." She said. The deputy started getting files and writing on some papers. She told Bella to sign on the lines there, and I saw a picture peeking out. _Emmett's Mug Shots._ I leaned towards Jasper and whispered about the mug shots. His eyes went into a mischief mode and her lips curved into an evil smile. He interrupted Bella and the deputy.

"Sir, could I have Emmett's mug shots? I would pay for it, if you like." He offered, using his Southern drawl that he kept in control when talking to us. Except when he's talking to Alice. They said that his accent could make you, a) Feel like a gay person if you're a guy, and b) become putty in his hands if you're a girl. So, they made him control that. The deputy agreed and Jasper gave him around a thousand dollars. The guy looked shocked at the amount of money he had. I'm pretty sure that his daily salary couldn't match up to that. He handed Jasper the mug shots and Jasper shot us a triumphant grin and Bella and the deputy resumed their discussion.

"Wonder if they got Emmett dressed in those striped jail clothes or the orange ones.." I said, trailing off. Alice and Rosalie scrunched their nose in disgust. Jasper just laughed out loud.

"Ugh. They are so ugly. The orange ones are too bright and they look so ugly. The striped ones is so stereotype and plus, what the heck is up the sailor hat?" Alice critiqued the clothes. Rosalie just nodded in agreement.

"But, which ones are you hoping for that he would wear?" I asked.

"NOTHING! I'd rather have him wear nothing than be seen with a fiancé that wears ugly clothing!" Rosalie exclaimed. Girls and their clothing. Except Bella, though.

Bella pulled out her purse and got out wads of cash. How she managed to fit it there, I will never know. The deputy looked surprised again. I walked beside Bella and smiled at her. I heard the deputy mutter, "Rich kids and unlimited amount of money in their purses." I chuckled a bit, and Bella looked at me questioningly.

"So, I guess he's done. Just go to the next hallway and go to the-" He was interrupted by a loud screech. He ran towards the sound and we followed. We saw Emmett, naked and some guys swarming him. Gays.

"IF YOU COME NEAR ME, I SWEAR TO GOD, I'D RIP YOUR BUTT HOLES OPEN AND LET IT BLEED UNTIL YOU HAVE NO BLOOD LEFT TO SHED!" He screamed towards them. The gay guys didn't look scared. Quite opposite. A tent suddenly pitched from their..striped uniforms.

"Emmett Cullen, you're released now. C'mon." The deputy chuckled and put the key in the padlock. He twisted it and the padlock unlocked. He took it out and Emmett burst out of the jail and pushed the jail door closed. He grabbed the padlock from the deputy and locked it. "Thank God," he muttered.

We thanked the deputy and was walking out of the building when he decided to scream something at us. "GIVE HIM CLOTHES OR ELSE HE'LL BE IN JAIL AGAIN!"

"Oh!" We all said and started to look for clothes. There weren't any, considering that this NYPD station. We thought that we'd just give him some jeans, and he'd be good. I volunteered, since I was wearing boxers inside this pants. It was quite baggy, since the manager in Wal-Mart gave me jeans 2 sizes bigger. I took it off and handed it to Emmett. He happily agreed.

When we got out, we hailed another cab, and Bella instructed him to go to the condos.

"Oh, guys, don't forget, we'll play Never Have I Ever this night."

Oh, shit.

_I'm only up when you're not down.__  
__Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground.__  
__It's like no matter what I do.__  
__Well you drive me crazy half the time;__  
__the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true.__  
__And I'm only me when I'm with you.__  
_

_**Taylor Swift – I'm Only Me When I'm With You**_

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**Added Author's Notes:**

**Soo, any guess on why Edward thought of "Oh shit." in the end? Huh?**

**So, any reviewers will get a snippet of the next chapter! :D or a gummy bear! XD**

**Oh, if you guys want me to recommend _YOUR _stories just tell me in a review and I'll be sure to mention it! :D**

**-Allie. xxx**


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